


The Call to (Continued) Adventure

by fjaeril



Category: Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Gen, Slight Canon-Divergence, artistic liberties w/ regards to names, headcanons, takes place during the Post-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27175975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fjaeril/pseuds/fjaeril
Summary: Back in Nuvema Town for some much needed rest after the events at N's castle, Whitley receives an unexpected visitor.
Kudos: 1





	The Call to (Continued) Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> To avoid any confusion: I refer to Touko/Hilda as "Whitley". Just a personal preference.

Whitley is dozing off on the couch when somebody knocks at the door. She opens her eyes, frowning up at the ceiling, and listens more closely. Mom should still be at work and Cheren and Bianca are both out of town for the weekend. 

No, there it is again. Someone’s outside, rapping at the door. 

“Coming!” Whitley shouts. She grudgingly pushes to her feet, straightening her clothes and hair as she goes to open the door. Autumn is around the corner but the sunlight trickling in through the windows is still warm. Mom’s old Herdier is sleeping in a sunspot in the kitchen, completely unbothered by the knocking. “Some guard dog you are,” Whitley mutters as she goes past. 

She reaches the door, unlocks, and opens it. The afternoon sunlight is blinding, and she has to blink a couple of times before her eyes adjust and she sees…

“Agent Looker.” Whitley feels herself start to frown. Of all the people she thought might come to see her, he wasn’t even on the list. Although, after everything that’s happened in the last couple of months, she supposes she shouldn’t be surprised anymore.

“Good afternoon, ms Thalassa. May I come inside?”

Whitley steps aside to let him in, though it’s not without a certain measure of wariness. She hasn’t seen him since those tense hours in N’s – no, Team Plasma’s – castle, since she pressed the Light Stone into N’s hand and told him to run. She gestures Agent Looker into the kitchen. Looker pulls one of the chairs out and sits down by the kitchen table, smiling. The warmth doesn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“You have a lovely home,” he says politely. 

“I’m… sure my mother would be glad to hear that,” she replies, though it sounds more like a question. She tries to think of something to say next. “Do you- Would you like something to drink?” 

“Oh! I would love some coffee, if it’s not too much trouble.” He laughs a little. Stiffly. “I had to make an early start this morning,” Looker explains as Whitley moves over to the kitchen cupboard. 

“We only have instant coffee,” she says.

“Instant will do just fine, thank you.” 

Whitley busies herself with making the coffee and tries to ignore the absurdity of a member of the international police sitting in her kitchen and trying to compliment the interior décor. He’s in his usual suit and tie, crisply ironed and without a single hair or speck of dust on them, a stark contrast to the worn surface of the old kitchen table and the flea market lampshade. She wonders what he wears on his days off. Do members of the international police even get days off?

She’s deep in thought when the water boiler dings. Dazed, she puts a few spoonfuls of coffee into two mugs, pours on the steaming water, and brings the mugs over to the table.

She sets one of them down next to Looker then takes a seat across him. 

“Thank you.” Looker takes a big sip and closes his eyes, almost like he’s relishing the taste. Which absolutely can’t be the case, because he’s drinking cheap supermarket instant coffee. He sets his mug down and laces his hands together in front of him on the table. “Now, the reason for my visit. Ms Thalassa, have you been in any sort of contact with the individual known as N since the 14th of August?”

Whitley feels herself tense ever so slightly. “No. I haven’t.” Even though she’s telling the truth, she feels as if Looker sees straight through her. She wonders how much he knows.

“Very well. In that case, I am sure you will be interested to hear that we’ve had several reports people spotting a white Dragon-type Pokémon in the Kalos region.” Whitley can’t quite control her facial expression, and Looker seems to catch it. “It truly is a shame that he slipped custody at the League, we would have liked to ask him some questions.” The way he says it makes it clear that he _knows_.

Whitley’s pulse rushes. Her knuckles are whitening around her coffee mug, and she forces herself to relax her grip. “Are you people hunting him?”

“Not at the moment, no. But we are keeping tabs on him.” Whitley feels her grip on the mug tighten again and Looker obviously notices, because he flexes his hands disarmingly in front of him. “Ms Thalassa, you cannot expect us to ignore the existence of a human who both managed to rouse one of the legendary dragons and is capable of hearing the thoughts of any Pokémon.” 

“I also woke a legendary dragon," she says without thinking. "Am I on your list, too?” 

“Yes,” he replies bluntly. “Of course you are. But you we have more data on. No past offenses, no dark secrets. And you’re, hm, well, you’re a little easier to predict than this N fellow.”

Whitley is seriously considering the benefits of throwing her coffee mug at him. “You’re disgusting.”

“I understand if you’re upset, ms Thalassa. Believe me, I did not come here to upset you.” 

“Why _did_ you come here? Because bringing up N-“ Whitley interrupts herself, realizes she’s not playing her cards particularly well. She glares at him. 

“Ghetsis Harmonia has escaped custody.”

The meaning of the words hits her like a bucketful of cold water. Whitley goes slack-jawed for a couple of seconds, before riling right back up. “And you think N had something to do with it?! Are you _crazy?_ That’s the last thing he’d-”

“Yes, we were thinking along similar lines,” Looker replies calmly. “Judging by their last meeting, we find it unlikely that N would be inclined to work with Ghetsis again. However, we are worried about N’s safety.” He steeples his fingers together in front of him. “Which brings me to the real point of my visit: would you like to help keep N out of trouble?”

“Is this- are you threatening me? Because if you hurt N, I swear-”

“No, ms Thalassa," Looker replies with the expression of someone long-suffering. "I assure you, we have no intentions of going after N, regardless of your answer.”

“For now.”

Looker sighs. “Granted, for now. If we cannot trust him to keep himself out of Ghetsis’ hands – or, Arceus forbid, that boy decides to start something all on his own – then we will have no choice but to bring him in. But I promise you, your answer will have no direct bearing on that.”

Whitley opens her mouth to say that N is well past ‘starting things’, but finds her conviction trembling. Not for the first time, she wonders if giving him the Stone back really was the right decision. She pushes the though to the back of her head and leans back in her chair, arms crossed. “What are you suggesting?”

“We would like to enlist your help in tracking Ghetsis down.” 

“You want _my_ help?” Whitley can’t help but feel a little flattered. At the same time, this feels like it’s way outside her pay grade. Going to the castle to knock some sense into N and managing to stumble into the approval of Zekrom was one thing, but this... “This sounds like something Alder and the Elite Four should be handling.” 

“And normally they would. But they are too well-known in Unova. They cannot move around without being noticed, not like a lone Trainer could. And you’ve proven yourself to be quite competent in these last couple of months.” Looker gives a half-smile and starts counting on his fingers. “A team of six, more than most people can handle. Eight Gym badges. The skill to best all of Team Plasma. And I’d say you’re familiar with how the Sages operate by now.” 

“But through all of that, I’ve never been alone,” Whitley eventually says. “Bianca and Cheren were always right there.”

“You wouldn’t be alone now, either, ms Thalassa. We’ll have your back, every step of the way. All we ask for is your cooperation.” Looker finishes his mug of coffee, then gathers his coat and stands up. He fishes a small card out from one of his coat pockets and puts it on the table. “Take some time to think about it and contact us when you have an answer. Thank you for the coffee. I’ll see myself out.”

Whitley hears the front door open and close. In some distant part of her brain, a voice is urging her to get up and lock it, but she’s too busy processing the conversation she’s just had. N's in Kalos. Ghetsis is at large. The international police wants _her_ help tracking him down. 

She picks the card up, runs a fingertip along the sharp edges. It’s embossed with an intricate logo and holds only a single phone number. She wonders who'll pick up if she calls.

She supposes there's only one way to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
